3D Printing Through the Decades

By LMT Communications, Inc.

Posted May 17, 2018 in Digital Dentistry

3D printing technology has been around for more than three decades in a variety of industries. Here are some of the highlights of its storied history:


1980: Dr. Hideo Kodama of Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute is credited with being the first to describe a rapid prototyping technique using a single-beam laser and photosensitive resin polymerized by an UV light, creating an ancestor for stereolithography (SLA). 


1986: Charles Hull broke new ground with SLA technology*, patented it and founded 3D Systems Corp.; a year later, the company released the SLA-1, the first commercialized 3D printer. 


1988: Carl Deckard from the University of Texas patented SLS technology*, another 3D printing technique in which powder grains are fused together by a laser. He then founded Desk Top Manufacturing Corp. (DTM) and produced the world’s first SLS printer...

Please Log In or Sign Up (it's free) to read the rest of this article
About The Author

  • LMT Communications, Inc.

    LMT Communications delivers the business strategies, information, dental laboratory news and education that dental laboratory decision-makers need to succeed. In Print. In Person. Online.

Please Log In or Sign Up to post to this article